


In Conclusion

by kittykatepb



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Julerose - Freeform, Memes, Oh Dear, all good questions, damn mari, do french people even know what the bachelor is?, flustered dorks, i feel like the purpose of this fic is to embarrass mari?, i feel like this would happen at one point tho, i guess i'm continuing this lol, idk what this is tho, kinda marichat i guess, love square confusion, ngl, okay you guys this is a crack fic, this doesn't have much of a plot tbh, this is silly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-20
Updated: 2016-08-23
Packaged: 2018-05-22 06:36:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6068953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittykatepb/pseuds/kittykatepb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A disagreement about Chat Noir's love life leads to Alya making some interesting conclusions.  Hijinks ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Type

**Author's Note:**

> I literally just wrote this and hastily edited it so enjoy lol

“I’m gonna get a picture of them kissing one day, even if it kills me!”  Alya muttered, scrolling through her Ladynoir feed on the Ladyblog.  She had pulled her phone out the moment that Madame Bustier left the classroom.  

 

Adrien, sitting only a few seats ahead, smiled at the frustrated blogger’s remark.  Since Nino was out sick, he found himself eavesdropping a bit of their conversation.  He would join in, but Adrien was aware that his presence somehow made Marinette uncomfortable, so he left the girls to their own conversation.

 

The topic of Ladynoir conjured images of his Lady’s brilliant blue eyes, and her shiny hair and---

 

“Alya, for the last time, it’s not like that!” Marinette’s sharp remark of disagreement cut through his daydream, and Adrien frowned.  “They are not, and will never be, a couple.”

 

“Girl, stop denying the inevitable.” Alya said, shaking her head at Marinette’s familiar criticism.  “He’s clearly in love with her.”

 

Adrien smiled from his seat in front of them once again, glad that Alya was setting the record straight.  He was a bit irritated that Marinette was so adamant about their relationship being platonic.  What did she know about the duo?

 

Marinette snorted at her friend’s response, rolling her eyes.  

 

“Please.” Marinette said.  “I love Chat, really, he’s a great partner to Ladybug and person, but he is just such a flirt!  It may  _ seem  _ like he has serious feelings for her, but that’s just the way he acts around everyone!”

 

Adrien’s irritation grew.  This was downright slander!

 

“Mari, you are so wrong!” Alya cried in protest.  

 

Marinette shook her head, lips pursed.

 

“Here, I’ll prove it.” Marinette said, looking around at her classmates.  The two girls had not noticed it, but most of their peers had started eavesdropping on their argument about Chat Noir’s love life.  

 

“Hey, girls, you’ve all interacted with Chat Noir, right?” Marinette called.  Adrien was surprised how confident Marinette could be at times.

 

The girls all nodded, Chloé adding, “I hang out with both Chat Noir  _ and  _ Ladybug all the time!”

 

Marinette held back an eye roll. 

 

“Well then, you all can attest that he’ll flirt with any girl that he sees.”  Marinette crossed her arms across her chest smugly, but the girls all just looked at her oddly.  

 

“Actually, he’s just courteous.  Nothing flirty about him, around me, at least,” Mylène explained, smiling over at Ivan.  Most of the other girls made sounds of agreement.

 

Marinette shook her head incredulously, not quite believing the information.

 

“Oh please,” she said.  “Whenever I run into Chat Noir, he calls me ‘Princess’ and jokes that he’s my knight.  He even tries to kiss my hand.  He’s a ridiculous flirt!  It can’t just be me that he acts like this around,”

 

Marinette now seemed a little bit uncertain, and her classmates studied her with a new interest.  Adrien didn’t dare turn around; his face, he was sure, was bright red.  He hadn’t really noticed that he only acted that way around his Lady  _ and  _ Marinette.  Adrien couldn’t quite explain why he felt compelled to flirt with Marinette in the first place as Chat, but it became a bit of a pattern.  

 

“Maybe Chat Noir just has a  _ thing  _ for you,” Juleka suggested.  The classmates started murmuring amongst themselves at this interesting new development.

 

Adrien felt like he was going to explode.

 

“Ha!” Marinette exclaimed awkwardly, completely flustered and now bright pink.  “There’s no way… I’m sure he flirts with a bunch of other girls who are not in this classroom, um…”

 

Alya looked at Marinette curiously.  “If a superhero was crushing on me, I’d be a lot more excited,”

 

“But he’s not!” Marinette said, trying to backtrack.  “You said he only loves Ladybug, right?” she concluded weakly.

 

“You may have convinced me otherwise,” Alya said with a mischievous glint in her eyes.  “What should we call your ship?  Chatinette?  Marichat?”

 

“Alya!” Marinette nearly screamed.  She looked so out of her element, and then Marinette rested her head on her desk.  Alya patted her head fondly, but Marinette just groaned.

 

“I like Marichat,” Rose said.  “It sounds cute!”

 

“Why is this happening to me…” Marinette whined.  “and in front of him,” Adrien thought he heard her mumble, but he had no idea who she could be referring to.  Little did Marinette know that although he was better at hiding it, Adrien felt equally embarrassed.

 

“It’s odd though,” Alya mused.  “Only paying special attention to Ladybug and Marinette.”

 

Marinette perked up again, but Adrien noticed a more clear sign of discomfort.  

 

Suddenly, Alya grabbed Marinette’s face and her eyes widened.  Marinette looked as if she wanted to flee the country.

 

“Blue eyes, dark hair, cute as a button,” Alya listed off.  “It all makes sense.  How could I not notice it sooner!”

 

“Alya,” Marinette said, her voice even.  “Before you say anything---”

 

“Chat Noir has a type!” Alya concluded triumphantly.  

 

Marinette seemed embarrassed, but for some reason that Adrien couldn’t figure out, immensely relieved.  

 

Several classmates tittered in agreement, but it was interrupted when Madame Bustier reentered the room.  

 

“Did something interesting happen?”  Madame Bustier asked as she surveyed the unruly students.

 

“Nope!” Marinette said immediately as she pointedly ignored her smirking classmates.

  
  


As Madame Bustier resumed the lesson, a red-faced Adrien couldn’t help thinking: was Marinette his type?  

 

That line of questioning led to a follow up: What was Marinette’s type?

  
Adrien felt determined to find out.


	2. Photoshop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya has no chill and Marinette is dying on the inside and heaters make everything warmer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To everyone who requested a continuation: be careful what you wish for. This chapter is just trash pretty much.

 

“Oh Tikki, today was so weird!” Marinette told her kwami.  “So Alya was talking about--”

 

“Marinette, I was there,” Tikki gently reminded her.  Marinette had a habit of ranting when she was confused and agitated, and since she was both, Tikki did not fancy getting an earful.

 

“I guess I should just be grateful that Alya didn’t figure out my identity right there, but it was just the strangest thing ever!” Marinette finally sat down.  “Do you think that Chat… likes me?”

 

Tikki opened her mouth, but Marinette kept talking.

 

“I mean, I know he says he feels that way about Ladybug, but what if he felt the same way about Marinette!  What if he liked both sides?”

 

Marinette expected to feel guilty at the thought of him liking Ladybug in and out of the mask, since she didn’t return the affections, but strangely, it made her feel warm.  Marinette dismissed the warmth as the heater on her wall.

 

“It’s weird when you talk about yourself in the third person,” Tikki commented.

 

“How else am I supposed to separate my identities?” Marinette asked.  “It’s all too confusing.”

 

Tikki nodded, happily eating a cookie.  

 

“Oh well, you know what?” Marinette announced, feeling certain. “He’s just a flirty kitty.  That’s it.  It’s nothing personal, so I shouldn’t worry about it.”

 

“A flirty kitty with a type,” Tikki giggled.  

 

“I can’t believe Alya said that,” Marinette sighed.  “Now I’ll never hear the end of it.  Oh god, how will I even face Chat?”

 

The question was directed at Tikki, but when Marinette turned towards Tikki, the red creature was gone.  

 

Instead, as Marinette swiveled towards her window, she saw Chat Noir.  

 

 _Now I’m literally facing Chat,_ Marinette thought to herself.  She reluctantly opened the window.

 

“Mind if I come in, Princess?” Chat asked, practically purring.

 

“I suppose that’s preferable to you creepily staring through my window.”  Suddenly paranoid, Marinette added, “When did you get here,”

 

Chat pulled himself through the window and did a bow.  “Just a second ago, really.”

 

Marinette nodded, relieved that he gave no indication of spotting Tikki.  

 

“And…” Marinette cocked her head to the side.  “Why are you here?”

 

“Me-owch!” Chat pretended to be fatally wounded.  “I just thought I’d visit the fairest princess in the land.”

 

“So you were visiting all the other princesses earlier then?” Marinette asked.  Chat shifted uncomfortably.  Ha!  She had known that he flirted with lots of girls.  

 

“Actually, I just was searching for my Lady.  She didn’t show up for patrol, so I thought I’d pop over here,” Chat explained.

 

Shoot.  With all the confusion, Marinette had forgotten about the patrol.

 

“Oh, I’m sure that she just forgot.” Marinette said, feeling guilty about leaving her kitty all alone.

 

“I’m worried that something happened…” Chat said.  “She’s not forgetful.  She doesn’t make these type of errors.”

 

Marinette rolled her eyes.  “She’s not forgetful?  Is she not human?” she asked.  God, Chat needed to knock Ladybug off of the ridiculous pedestal that he placed her on.  “I’m sure she’s fine; you’ll see her tomorrow.”

 

“I suppose that you’re right, purr-incess.” Chat said.  

 

“Okay, back to the topic at hand,” Marinette said, trying to get rid of any confusion. “you flirt with all of the girls, right?”

 

Chat kinda just shrugged, and Marinette threw a pillow in his face.

 

“What was that for?” he asked, his face slightly pink.

 

“It’s for being a flirt,” Marinette said, huffing and putting her hands on her hips, “who isn’t really a flirt at all!”

 

Instead of justifying her comment with a response, Chat just sat down on her chaise and stretched out.  

 

Marinette looked out her window and wondered what she did to deserve this day.  

 

“You would not believe the weirdness that happened to me because of your weirdness,” Marinette told him.  “Half my class thinks that we’re secretly dating or something because apparently you don’t flirt as much as I thought.  Alya has already sent me weird photoshop pictures of us.”

 

Marinette showed Chat the stock photos of couples that Alya pasted their faces onto.  However, Marinette skipped over the racy romance book covers that Alya used as photoshop fodder.

 

“France’s up and coming journalist,” Chat said, laughing.

 

Marinette let out a snort of her own.  “I think she’s a blogger at heart.”

 

They stood there for a minute in comfortable silence.  

 

“But, anyway, I need a solution to all of my classmates thinking that I’m ‘your type’”.  Marinette explained.  “It’s just weird.”

 

“But what if it’s true?” Chat asked, raising an eyebrow suggestively.  

 

She just shot him a withering look.  “Chat, be serious.”

 

“Oh my god.  Someone take Alya’s photoshop away.”  Marinette sat on the floor, defeated.  

 

Marinette wordlessly handed her phone to Chat.  

 

Alya had gotten some photos from the American reality TV show _The Bachelor._  The premise is that one bachelor dates multiple women and eventually chooses one.  Alya had photoshopped Chat Noir’s face onto that one the bachelor, and all of the contestants had a face of one of their female classmates pasted on.  The only addition to the contestants was Ladybug’s face.  Alya’s caption read: “Which one of the marvelous contestants will he choose to be his perfect meow-tch?”

 

Chat grinned at the use of the pun.  He made a note of it in his mind.  

 

The phone buzzed again.

 

“It’s a message from Alya,” Chat told Marinette.  “Should I open it?”

 

Marinette gave him the go ahead.  She had nothing left to lose.

 

It still had the theme of _The Bachelor_ , but now there was only Chat and two contestants: Ladybug and Marinette.  Alya’s caption read: “It’s down to the final two!  Who will receive the final rose?  Two very different girls (but both are his type ;)) are competing for Chat’s heart.  Will Ladybug, the fan favorite, prevail, or will Marinette, the up-and-coming designer, manage to pull through?  Tune in next Monday”.  

 

Marinette came over to read the message over Chat shoulder, and he suddenly felt warm.   _Must be that heater_ , he thought.  

 

“This is what my life has become,” Marinette said numbly.  

 

Chat’s miraculous beeped, so he decided to take his leave.  

 

“Until next Monday, Princess!” he said with a flirtatious wink as he departed.  

 

* * *

 

When he had, Tikki came out from her hiding place.

 

“That kitty will be the death of me.”  Marinette told her kwami.  

  
Tikki simply giggled at Marinette’s red cheeks.  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should be doing my French homework right now, but writing about fictional French teenagers counts, right?
> 
> Edit: I'm currently writing the next chapter, so I have a query for you guys: would you be more amused or annoyed with me casually breaking the fourth wall and inserting memes into this fanfic? I suppose that you all know that this is supposed to be light-hearted, but I want to hold myself back from just completely going wild. Please leave comments and give me your input, I would really appreciate it.


	3. Damn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya breaks the fourth wall, Adrien takes a risk, and Nino knows that something is up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I edited last chapter's note, but I wanted to write and it's impossible for me to sit on a finished chapter, so I'm just going for it. Hold on tight, kids.

“Alya,” Marinette said to her friend the next day, a Friday morning.  “You had no business sending me that photoshop stuff,”

 

Recalling Alya’s reimagining of  _ The Bachelor _ , Adrien suppressed a grin from his seat in front of the two girls.  

 

“Of course I had business,” Alya replied.  “love business.”  

 

Adrien didn’t even have to turn around to know that Marinette was rolling her eyes.  He would also bet on Alya waggling her eyebrows suggestively.  

 

“I didn’t know they were hiring,” Marinette quipped.  

 

“I’m an unpaid intern,” Alya admitted.  “but alas, it’ll count as experience if nothing else,”

 

“Yes, experience in being a photoshop fanatic and an unwanted matchmaker, but nothing else,” Marinette said.  “real talk though.  How do you even have time to do those edits?”

 

“I’m not quite sure,” Alya said dreamily.  “Sometimes I feel as if everything in my life is put on hold unless it has to do with you or Adrien or Ladybug or Chat Noir, like a secondary character in a TV show or something, you know?”

 

“That doesn’t make any sense Alya,” Marinette replied.  Adrien couldn’t relate either.  The two didn’t notice the other students exchanging nods with each other.  

 

“Oh, yeah, I have no idea what I was talking about,” Alya said, quickly coming out of her daze.  “Anyway, I know that you secretly loved it.  I’m not the one who has a whole tumblr dedicated to shitposting the newest memes and your favorite mod---”

 

“Shhhhh Alya!” Marinette said, playfully trying to cover her best friend’s mouth.   _ Marinette likes memes,  _ Adrien thought to himself, storing that information away.  He was distracted by that goldmine so much so that he didn’t mourn the muffled ending to Alya’s comment.  

 

“Just sayin’” Alya replied, putting her hands up in a surrender.  “Okay, but re Chat Noir.  Last night, I was reviewing the text messages you sent me the night of the Evillustrator incident, a primary source, and the way you described his behavior around you was certainly interesting.  Are you sure there’s not something you’re not telling me?”

 

_ Like that Chat Noir visited you just last night?  _ Adrien thought to himself with a smirk.  Adrien wanted Nino to recover from his cold as soon as possible, but it did allow him to make any strange expression that he wanted without any questions.

 

“For the last time Alya,” Marinette said, exasperated.  “I am not dating that smirking, flirtatious, cat!”  

 

Marinette said the last part a bit louder than she meant to, and she said it just as Madame Bustier entered the room.     
  


“Glad to hear it Marinette,” Madame Bustier replied, raising an eyebrow.  “Now can you settle yourself so we can start class?”

 

Marinette, duly embarrassed, nodded.  Madame Bustier turned to the chalkboard.  The students tittered, and Marinette turned even redder, but Adrien knew that she’d be alright.  Something that he liked about Marinette was that she always bounced back so quickly.  She, because of her own actions or those of others, often ended up in uncomfortable situations, but soon enough, she would be as bubbly and witty as usual.  Except when she was around Adrien.  He still couldn’t figure that out.  

 

Marinette was an enigma to him; she seemingly had two different personalities, so that drew him in.   _ I also shamelessly flirt with her as Chat, which is a bit of an enigma,  _ Adrien thought, but for now, he pushed that thought to the side.  A problem for another day.  Anyway.  He didn’t think that she disliked him; Marinette was vocal in her disapproval of things, so Alya and Marinette would steer clear of him if that was the case.  Adrien was determined to find the hidden puzzle piece to Marinette.  He hardly knew anything about her besides what he observed from the sidelines.  Adrien wanted to know her, even if he had to approach her as both his civilian self and Chat Noir.  

 

* * *

 

On the weekend, patrolling with Chat Noir was a bit weird.  Nothing specifically changed, but Marinette felt as if she had an excess of knowledge.  She now knew that he only really flirted with two girls: Ladybug and Marinette, AKA herself and herself.  She was really sure what to do with this new information, especially now that she questioned whether his flirting was just meaningless banter.  Ladybug pushed that information aside for the patrols; it was a problem for another day.  

 

Chat wasn’t exactly quiet, but he seemed a bit pensive.  It made Marinette nervous that he discovered her identity and would call her ‘Princess’ instead of ‘My Lady’, but she shook that thought away.  It was selfish to think that any change in his demeanor would be because of her.   

 

As there were no akuma attacks, the weekend was surprisingly quiet.  Not too surprising, if Marinette was being completely honest.  Chloé stayed home on Friday because she had come down with the same cold that anchored Nino to his house during the school week, so she was out of commission for the weekend.

 

Before Ladybug leapt away at the end of their Sunday night patrol, Chat called out to her.  

 

“My Lady,” he said, his eyes twinkling with the usual Chat-ness, but unless Marinette had imagined it, nervousness?  Very odd.  “Purr-haps you could spare a moment to offer me some advice before you leave?”  His tail curled upwards hopefully.  

 

Since there were no attacks, Marinette had plenty of time before her transformation wore out.  

 

“Bien sûr, minou,” Ladybug replied.  “What’s troubling you?”

 

“How do you get someone to be more comfortable around you?” Chat asked, looking slightly embarrassed.

 

“Hm, it depends on the person.” Marinette wondered who Chat could be talking about.  He seemed to talk to everyone in Paris with such ease.  Then again, Chat probably thought that Ladybug was an absolute social butterfly, in the suit and out, unaware that she had trouble talking to her crush without turning as red as her Ladybug suit.  It was weird thinking about their different lives: Chat as some random civilian, dealing with issues and people who she could never meet or understand.   

 

“Well, she’s my classmate.  She has this claw-some, razor-sharp wit and strong personality, but around me, she becomes so closed off and shy.  She gets so flustered, and I just don’t know how to make things different between us.”  Chat scratched his ears.  

 

“I really don’t know how you can change the way someone feels if they have such a stark personality change around you,” Marinette began honestly, thinking about the situation.  Chat’s tail drooped slightly.  It made her sad, that her chaton thought so highly of someone unreachable.  Marinette’s eyes widened as she realized another possibility for the girl’s behavior, and for some reason, it caused a twist in her chest.  The poor girl probably had a crush on him!  Marinette could relate to the struggle of talking to a crush 

 

“Maybe she wants to talk to you, but for some reason, she feels  _ nervous  _ or  _ blushy  _ around you.  Does that seem true?”  Marinette tried to emphasize those words to hint that the girl might have a crush on him.

 

“Mais oui, but what can I do about it?” Chat asked.  Chat didn’t pick up his Lady’s true question.  

 

“Most of it is up to her, but you can do your best to try to make her more comfortable.  Think of her own interests, be extra kind to her, anything will help.  She’ll appreciate the effort, I’m sure,” Marinette advised.  

 

Chat beamed at his Lady and kissed her hand.  “I have the purr-fect idea!” he exclaimed.  “Thank you my Lady.  You were as wise as I thought you’d be.”

 

“No problem Chat,” Marinette said, smiling.  Chat was too distracted by his new idea to notice that her smile was strained.  

 

The pair of superheroes parted in opposite directions.  

 

* * *

  
  


“Hey man,” Nino croaked as he slid into the seat next to Adrien.  

 

Adrien nodded and shot him a small smile, but his mind was elsewhere.  Adrien’s lackluster greeting did not go unnoticed by Nino.

 

“Wow, your best friend comes back to school after being out sick for a whole week and you can’t even spare a ‘hello?’” Nino said, his voice still sore.  He expected more of a homecoming from his best friend.

 

“Sorry Nino, I’m really glad that you’re feeling a bit better.  It’s good to see you again,” Adrien said with a sheepish grin.  

 

“It’s all good,” Nino said, unable to resist his friend’s honest apology.  “So, what did I miss?”

 

“Besides the assignments that I sent to you, nothing much,” Adrien said.  He didn’t mention the new emotions and curiosity coursing through his veins.

 

In the minutes before class, Nino started to make up one of his assignments, leaving Adrien alone to his thoughts.  

 

_ This will work out,  _ Adrien thought.   _ Marinette loves memes. _

 

Adrien himself had gotten a kick out of the Damn Daniel video, and he had rewatched it many times.  This plan would definitely make Marinette more comfortable.  

 

The time would come soon; in the beginning of the day, Madame Bustier was out of the room, and Marinette would arrive any minute.  

 

The door clicked open, and Marinette appeared.  She had arrived a bit early for once.  Marinette was about to make her way to Alya, who had waved to her friend, but things did not follow a usual course.  Adrien sighed a breath of relief when he saw that she was wearing her ballet flats.  Not vans, but they would work well enough.

 

Adrien gathered his courage and put his plan into action.

 

“Damn Mari,” Adrien began loudly, trying to imitate the voice on the video.  “back at it again with the ballet flats!”

 

The room was in complete silence.  No one quite knew how to react to the polite, reserved Adrien loudly greeting Marinette with a meme.  

 

A sharp snort interrupted the all-encompassing silence, and to the surprise of the class, it came from Marinette herself.  Her face was red, but she was snorting, laughing even!  Her classmates did not think that she entirely aware of what had just happened; hell, even they didn’t know what was happening!

 

“Nice going, you meme trash,” Marinette replied, wiping her the slight tears that were forming on her face.  “That was pretty funny Cha---Adrien!” 

 

Marinette had finally looked at who had made the reference, shocked that it was Adrien.  Her mouth formed a small “O” shape, and the class wondered if she would drop her things.  

 

When Madame Bustier entered the room, Marinette scurried off to her seat.  The teacher noticed the silence, but more surprising was the absolute smirk on Adrien’s face.  Madame Bustier didn’t think she’d ever seen such an expression on the sweet boy’s face.   Instead of questioning the class, she started the lesson.  There was a lot to get through, and she wanted to start as soon as possible.

 

“You just called Adrien Agreste meme trash,” Alya whispered to Marinette.  Marinette, still in severe shock, couldn’t formulate a response.  

 

“Okay dude,” Nino said to Adrien, shaking his head incredulously.  “Something definitely happened while I was gone.”

  
Adrien simply shrugged, as if he didn’t just act like Chat Noir in the midst of all of his classmates.  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The only reason this chapter came out so quickly is because I wanted to use the Damn Daniel meme before it became too old lol.
> 
> Note: Right now, I've started a completely draining research and debate project with a group for school, so I will not be as active as I have been on AO3 b/c the project has many deadlines. I do completely have the next chapter planned out though.


	4. Notes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> two of my favorite side characters, note passing, and things left unsaid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I don't know if anyone saw what I added at the end of the third chapter, but I've been very busy recently. I'm doing a group debate project, and it takes up a lot of my time, so I won't be updating as often as I did in the way beginning, but don't worry; I'm not going anywhere, and lots more will happen in In Conclusion. I have lots of possible plot lines mapped out.

Honestly, the whole class was just confused.  They just didn’t understand what compelled Adrien, the most reserved student in their whole class, maybe even the whole school, to act out a meme to Marinette.  Suddenly, their previous knowledge of Adrien seemed somewhat lacking.  

 

Adrien felt many pairs of eyes on himself during the lesson.  He wondered if one of them belonged to Marinette.

 

 

Most of the class was satisfied with their sly glances and silent speculations, but Rose was far too intrigued by it all to not share her thoughts.  She started scribbling a note to Juleka in her signature pink pen on some scrap paper.

 

_ R - What was that?!!? _

 

Juleka looked at the note and smiled.  Her small deskmate looked like she would spring out of her chair any minute, but that didn’t surprise Juleka very much.  It wasn’t difficult to get Rose excited about something, which was one of the things that she loved about the blonde girl.  She cared so much about every little thing, and Rose’s compassion was enough to completely light up Juleka’s day.  

 

_ J - I guess you can only be a reserved model citizen for so long,  _ Juleka wrote with her matching, but purple, pen.  Amused by the wording, she added  _ pun intended.   _

 

Rose snickered at the Juleka’s comment.  Because of the goth girl’s appearance, people often assumed that Juleka was all doom and gloom, but the opposite was true.  Rose knew Juleka to be witty, kind, and dorky as hell.  A sudden realization popped into Rose’s head, and she quickly wrote down her thoughts.  

 

_ R - Adrien said that specifically to Marinette… Did he say that FOR Marinette?  Does he LIKE Marinette?   _ Rose was practically bouncing in her seat while she wrote.   _ Marinette would explode if Adrien liked her back! _

 

Juleka read the new note and sighed.  Rose’s romantic nature sometimes caused her to get a little bit ahead of herself.

 

_ J - I wouldn’t go as far as to say that he likes her that way,  _ Juleka wrote.   _ And even if he did, Marinette wouldn’t need to explode b/c it seems like you’re already doing that for her ;P _

 

When Rose read the note, she smiled sheepishly over at her friend.  Juleka was right.  He probably didn’t like her yet, but Rose could tell it would only be a matter of time.  

 

_ R - Maybe not yet ;)   _ Rose wrote.  

 

Juleka read the note quickly and wrote a response.

 

_ J - If he did start liking her, I guess he would have to compete with Chat Noir.   _ Juleka was more interested in how Chat Noir always flirted with their classmate than how Adrien had just memed all over the place.  

 

Rose’s eyes widened at Juleka’s response, scribbling her her own.

 

_ R - I can’t believe that I forgot about all of that!  Maybe there will be some classroom drama. _

 

_ J - There is literally always classroom drama, but I think this stuff will be more interesting than the usual.  Even if Adrien is too oblivious to notice anything during all of it. _

 

_ R - He directly made a joke for Marinette, loudly, in front of everyone.  I don’t think he’s as oblivious as everyone thinks. _

 

_ J - Maybe not, but I still think that Chat Noir and Marinette make more sense together.  He flirts with her constantly, and he doesn’t seem like the type to hide his feelings.   _

 

_ R - So you’re team marichat? _

 

_ J - haha, I suppose so.   _

 

Rose was going to reply to Juleka’s note, but then Madame Bustier called on her.  Juleka took the chance to hastily add another sentence to her response.

 

_ Do you want to go on a date at the ice skating rink this Saturday? _

 

Ever since Juleka became friends with the small blonde girl, she had developed romantic feelings for her friend.  Rose’s natural sweetness had instantly endeared her to Juleka, so the two became very close.  Juleka had spent a long time denying her feelings, but now she knew that her regard for Rose was more than just platonic love.  The only thing was that she had no inkling of Rose’s feelings, and if they weren’t reciprocated, Juleka didn’t want to make her best friend uncomfortable.  Even so, she couldn’t stay silent forever.

 

Juleka’s fingers drummed on her desk nervously.

 

 

After answering Madame Bustier’s question, Rose turned back to her friend, smiling serenely in anticipation for Juleka’s response about her thoughts on Marinette and Chat Noir’s relationship.  

 

Juleka immediately lost her nerve.   _ She’s probably straight, she’s probably straight, she’s probably straight,  _ Juleka thought to herself, hurriedly turning her invitation into a purple wave with her pen.  She could stay silent for a bit longer.  

 

However, Juleka didn’t forfeit the note just yet.  She still wanted to offer an invitation to Rose, but maybe not one as direct as the previous invitation.

 

_ J - Do you want to go ice skating with me this Saturday?  We could invite Marinette and Adrien, since you seem to really like the two together, and see what happens. _

 

Rose beamed upon reading Juleka’s note and immediately wrote her pink response.

 

_ R - Sounds perfect!   _

  
Even though Juleka was disappointed in herself for backing down from her original plan, seeing Rose’s pleased smile was enough to make everything alright.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know that this chapter was different from what you guys are used to, but I really wanted to throw Juleka and Rose in there b/c Julerose forever. This snippet was going to be included in chapter five, but I decided to post it as its own short little chapter. The story will still mostly revolve around Mari and Adrien and their alter egos, but I wanted to give their classmates a bigger presence. 
> 
> Also.
> 
> In last chapter's comment section, TuneFox_Ikeedia used the phrase "memed all over the place" as a description of Adrien's rendition of the Damn Daniel meme, and that made me laugh, so I borrowed that phrase for this chapter ;)


	5. Figure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette revealed her dream of becoming a wingwoman, Alya and Nino interrogate their friends, and Marinette and Chat have great faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this chapter is relatively long. I always get inspired to write a chapter when I have lots of other work to do, isn't that just wonderful? But anyway, here it is lol

Marinette, even after forty minutes of Madame Bustier’s lesson, could not wrap her head around Adrien’s, well, unique greeting.  She didn’t know that the boy had it in him.  

 

Not to say that she was unhappy about it, necessarily.  It was just very surprising and random and almost like a thing that Chat would do.  Hell, she had almost called him Chat in front of the whole class!  That would have only added fuel to the flame, with the “marichat” rumors circulating around.  

 

Marinette wasn’t very happy about the attention she was receiving from her classmates.  People kept giving her curious glances, and Juleka and Rose were passing notes and giggling.  Although it sounded narcissistic, Marinette was certain that they were talking about her and Adrien and maybe even Chat.  

 

The most irritating aspect of it all was how Alya had passed her a note after class had started.

 

_ A - Me and you, at lunch.  Explain everything! _

 

Marinette had wanted to protest, but Alya was a journalist.  She would not back down that easily, so Marinette would have to think of something to say.  

 

_ M - Okay. _

 

Her only choice was to agree to try to explain, but honestly, Marinette was just as clueless about the whole thing as her friend.  At least maybe this new development would distract Alya from “marichat”, because that whole ordeal was absolutely ridiculous.  No way that would ever happen, not in a million years.  

 

For the rest of the lesson, Marinette gazed down at the back of Adrien’s head.  She wanted to reach through his golden locks into his brain to figure out what was going on with her crush, but even Ladybug didn’t have the power to read minds.  

 

In retrospect, maybe their lives would be a lot less complicated if Ladybug could read minds.  

 

* * *

  
  


The second the bell rang for lunch and Madame Bustier left the classroom, all eyes were back on Adrien and Marinette.  The whole class expected some sort of closure, and honestly, the only thing more interesting than the unresolved sexual tension between Ladybug and Chat Noir was the unresolved sexual tension between Marinette and Adrien, so yeah, they could spare a few minutes.   

 

Marinette was the first one to stand up.  She silently willed everyone to stop staring at them, but Marinette was not very lucky when she wasn’t Ladybug, so everyone kept staring.   _ Might as well grab some popcorn while you’re at it,  _ Marinette thought.  

 

Alya stood up next to her friend, and the two turned to leave, but Adrien also stood up.  Nino followed suit.  He had his own interrogation planned too.  

 

“Hey Marinette,” Adrien said, his voice completely casual.  He had dialled down the excitement from earlier, but he did seem rather lively even so.   

 

“Oh, uh, hey Adrien!”  Marinette replied.   _ A sentence without a stutter, nice!  _ Marinette thought to herself.   _ Future goals: eliminate all “uh”s and don’t let your voice reach an octave that only dogs can hear.   _

 

Not the smoothest reply, but in Marinette-talking-to-Adrien terms, that was practically James Bond level smoothness.  

 

“So,” Adrien began, but he was cut off by the ringing of his cell phone.  “It’s Nathalie,” he replied apologetically, frowning slightly.  “I need to take this.”

 

“Still on for lunch in the courtyard, right?” Nino asked.  Adrien smiled and nodded before answering the call and exiting the classroom.  

 

Marinette let out a sigh of relief.  She thought that she would do something extremely embarrassing, but luckily, she managed to (mostly) stay calm.  

 

The shuffling of papers and chairs signified to Marinette, Alya and Nino that their classmates were finally leaving the class.  

 

“That was anticlimactic,” Alix grumbled from across the classroom.  

 

“Yep,” Kim replied cheerfully.  “That will be five euros.”

 

Marinette’s mouth dropped in shock.  “You bet on us!” She cried in disbelief at the same time that Alya asked, “What was the bet?”

 

“I bet that there would be three times as much sexual tension in that interaction than usual,” Kim said.  “And I was 100% correct!”

 

“How can you even quantify that and determine that your bet was correct?” Marinette asked.  

 

“Maybe you don’t feel it, but we all do,” Kim replied.

 

“It’s true,” Alix affirmed.  

 

Marinette couldn’t even think of a response.  Nearly the whole class had left, but Juleka and Rose were waiting at the door.  

 

“Hi Marinette, hi Alya,” Rose greeted.  Juleka smiled at them.  “Marinette, can we talk to you for just a second?”

 

“Sure,” Marinette replied.  Alya waved and walked out the door, fine with waiting for a couple of minutes.

 

“Do you want to go ice skating with us on Saturday?” Juleka asked.  

 

“It would be super fun!” Rose added enthusiastically.  

 

Gears started turning in Marinette’s head, and she smiled widely.  “Yes, definitely!  See you guys tomorrow!”

 

The pigtailed girl strode out the door, feeling very excited for the weekend.

 

* * *

  
  


“You look very happy,” Alya observed.  The two girls began to walk out of the building towards Marinette’s house.  

 

“I was invited to go ice skating with Juleka and Rose,” Marinette told her friend.  “I think that they’re finally getting together, and they chose me as their wingwoman!”  Marinette sighed happily.  Most of her classmates were focused on her drama with Adrien, but Marinette was more interested in the relationship between Juleka and Rose.  They obviously loved each other in some sort of way, and Marinette was not convinced that it was platonic.  

 

Alya found a couple of inconsistencies in Marinette’s assumption.

 

“You are whose wingwoman?” Alya asked.  

 

Marinette’s smile faltered, her face twisting pensively.  “Um, they both kinda asked me to go with them?”

 

Alya shook her head at her friend.  “Marinette, that’s not how being a wingwoman works.  I don’t think either of them is going to suddenly confess.”

 

Marinette sighed dejectedly, realizing that Alya was probably right.  “Oh well.  At least ice skating will be fun… Wait,” Marinette stopped in the sidewalk to emphasize her point.  She had the tendency to be a little dramatic.  “Why would they randomly invite me to hang out, today out of all days?  We’ve never really hung out before.”

 

Alya found it funny that Marinette always suspected some convoluted undertone to every situation.  “Maybe they’re the ones who are trying to be wingwomen,” Alya joked.  “Don’t be surprised if they just  _ happen  _ to invite Adrien ice skating too.”

 

Alya meant her comment as a joke, but it made everything click in Marinette’s mind.  

 

“So they were talking about me today!” Marinette exclaimed.  Alya simply laughed and patted her hyper friend’s head.  

 

* * *

 

 

After eating some quiche for lunch at Marinette’s house, they headed up to Marinette’s room.  Alya had some questions.  

 

“I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but you need to just tell me: are you dating Chat Noir?”  Alya asked.  

 

Marinette’s head yanked forwards in surprise.  She had expected the interrogation to revolve around Adrien, not the other blond boy in her life.  

 

“No, Alya, I’ve already said no!  Why would you think that?”  Marinette asked incredulously.  Alya was unfazed; she had expected this sort of response.  

 

“Oh, I don’t know,” Alya said, narrowing her eyes, “why don’t you tell me,  _ Chadrien _ ?”  

 

“What?” Marinette responded.  Alya had lost her on this one.     
  


“Oh, I heard you Marinette.  You tried to switch gears, but clear as day, I heard it.   _ Chadrien _ .”  Alya said. 

 

Oops.  So someone had noticed her slip up.   

 

Marinette shrugged in the most innocent manner possible.  “I always stutter around Adrien, what’s new?”

 

“Oh no.  That was no ordinary stutter.  You were trying to say Chat.”  Alya concluded confidently.  “That’s something we psychologists call a Freudian Slip.”

 

“Oh, so you’re a psychologist now too?”  Marinette asked sarcastically.  

 

Alya flipped her hair, and then turned her attention back towards Marinette.  “What can I say, I’m a girl of many talents.  But anyway.  You almost said Chat, because subconsciously, you wanted Adrien to be Chat,”

 

“What?”  Marinette asked, completely shocked.  “Me, wanting Adrien to be Chat?  That’s ludicrous!”

 

“Well, they aren’t that different.” Alya said, earning a sideways glance from Marinette.  “I guess your turnons are blond hair, green eyes, and awkward flirting skills.”

 

“Okay, let me stop you right there.  They are nothing alike.  Their physical features are only vaguely similar, and Adrien was not trying to flirt with me.  I’m pretty sure it was just a completely platonic remark.  Besides, Chat’s puns would  _ never  _ be a turnon.” Marinette explained.  

 

“I don’t know Marinette,” Alya said playfully.  “Adrien did seem rather flirty, much less reserved this morning, all for you.  And what makes flirting with puns worse than flirting with memes?” 

 

“Even if Adrien was flirting with me, which he definitely was not, memes are a much better method than  _ puns _ .  Memes are a cultural experience that so many people can relate to!  One image can have so much meaning to so many people, and to me, that’s beautiful.”  Marinette said in all seriousness.  An attack on memes was an attack on Marinette.  

 

“I forgot that you had a shitposting blog,” Alya said drily.  

 

“Oh!”  Alya exclaimed, an idea forming in her mind.  “Okay, so Adrien suddenly has a thing for you, Chat apparently has had a thing for you for quite some time, and Chat has had a thing for Ladybug since the beginning of time.  You follow?”

 

“I mean, most of what you’ve said is completely false, but sure, I follow,”  Marinette said.  

 

“Anyway, because of Ladybug being in the mix, it’s less of a love triangle.  I guess I would call it a love square?”  Alya mused, stroking her chin pensively.  “I wouldn’t be surprised if I found out that Ladybug had midnight rendez-vous with Adrien at this point.”

 

Marinette’s face turned beet red, and she shoved her face into a pillow.  

 

* * *

 

 

Back at the school, Adrien and Nino were eating together in the courtyard.  Nathalie had merely called to organize some shoots in the future.  

 

“Okay Adrien,” Nino said, taking a bite of his sandwich.  “Since you were clearly lying when you told me that nothing much happened in my absence, now is the time to let me in on whatever the hell happened.”

 

Chewing on his own sandwich, Adrien asked, “What do you mean?”  

 

Nino sighed and put down his sandwich.  “I guess what I’m asking is when did you decide to court Marinette Dupain-Cheng with memes.”  

 

Adrien nearly choked on his sandwich.  “ _ Court _ her?  I was just being friendly!”  

 

_ Your red face says otherwise,  _ Nino thought to himself.  

 

“It’s cool man,” Nino said.  “You aren’t the first to have a crush on Marinette, and you definitely won’t be the last.”  

 

“What?  No, no, it’s not like that!”  Adrien held his hands up defensively.  “And what do you mean by saying that I won’t be the last?”  It wasn’t a surprising theory, as Marinette was funny, smart and talented, but he wanted to know what Nino meant. 

 

“I mean, the part about me not being the last is inaccurate because I don’t like her that way but what do you mean?”  Adrien rushed through that sentence with hardly any pauses.  

 

“Well, basically everyone in our grade has gotten a crush on Marinette and some point.  I have personal experience with that.”  Nino chuckled, remembering the disaster of his brief crush on Marinette.  Luckily it had lead him to Alya, and the rest was history.  “I think that having a crush on Marinette is inevitable, and it seems like now it’s your turn.  I wish you luck.”  

 

Adrien was redder than ever.

 

“Nino, it’s not like that!” Adrien supposed that he should make his argument a bit more convincing.  “It’s just that Marinette seems like such a cool person, but she always is somehow uncomfortable around me, and I don’t know why. I wanted to make her comfortable, and I heard she liked memes, so,” Adrien made a helpless gesture with his hands.  

 

“Wait, you have no idea why she acts that way?” Nino asked, incredulous.  

 

Adrien’s eyes widened.  “Do you?”  He asked Nino hopefully, gripping his shoulders.  “What’s the reason?”  

 

Nino shrugged Adrien’s hands off of his shoulders.  “Uh, no, I have absolutely no idea,” Nino was lying, of course, but he had been sworn to secrecy.  

 

They ate their meals for a minute, but Nino interrupted it with another question.

 

“So you think the best method is to randomly reference memes?” Nino asked.  

 

Adrien shrugged, a playful smile curling on his lips.  “I made her laugh, and she didn’t seem so tense, if only for a second.”  

 

Nino was going to tell him that memes should not be referenced outside of the internet and how his behavior seemed incredibly bizarre, but recalling the spirited expression on Adrien’s face earlier that morning stopped him.  Adrien’s horribly neglectful father prevented him from showing nearly any emotion, and Adrien constantly checked himself to see if he was fitting into the mold of “perfect son”.  It was very sickening.  It had taken months for Nino to see Adrien’s true mischievous, dorky nature, and even so, Nino still felt that Adrien was holding back, especially around his other friends.  Apparently something about Marinette helped Adrien to cut loose a bit, and Nino thought that was a good thing, no matter how abrupt the transition had seemed to others.  

 

“It’s nice to see people less tense than they usually are,” Nino agreed.  “And hey, I admire your attempts to get to know Marinette better.  She’s pretty great.”

 

“She really is,”  Adrien said, smiling softly.  

 

_ He’s got it bad,  _ Nino thought to himself.  

 

“And for what it’s worth, I’ll totally be your wingman,” Nino promised.  Adrien looked over suspiciously, so Nino added “in a totally platonic way!”

 

Adrien grinned.  Nino always came through for him.  “Thanks man!” He said.  

 

* * *

  
  


In the evening, Marinette discussed the day’s events with Tikki.  Tikki listened attentively, as always.  

 

“I mean, do you really think that Adrien was flirting with me?”  Marinette asked.  

 

“It’s a definite possibility,” Tikki said.  That boy did seem awfully eager.  

 

“Well, even if he was, which he probably wasn’t, I shouldn’t get overexcited or weird about it.  I should just stay calm and collected.  Totally cool.  Yep.”  Marinette nodded to herself.  

 

As Marinette was focusing on staying “totally cool”, a couple of sharp taps at her window caused the designer to jump a few feet in the air as well as eliciting a flustered shriek.  

 

_ Totally cool,  _ Marinette thought sarcastically as she casually grabbed her parasol to defend herself against whatever poor sucker decided to attack Ladybug’s alter ego.  

 

However, when Marinette turned around, there wasn’t an enemy at the door; instead, a cheeky kitty gave her a wave.  Marinette hoped that he had not spotted Tikki.  

 

Marinette’s shoulders relaxed, but now she was confused as to why Chat Noir came to visit her again.  In fact, she had no idea why Chat had visited her a few days ago either.  Weird.  

 

Marinette put her parasol down, walked over to the window, and let Chat in.  Once he managed to squeeze through, Marinette put her hand on her hip and cocked her head.

 

“Bonsoir Purr-incess,” Chat greeted, giving her a bow.  

 

“What are you doing here Chat?” Marinette asked, not unkindly.  She was just confused by his presence in her civilian life.  She wondered if this would become a regular thing, but strangely enough, that thought did not make her feel unpleasant.  In fact, quite the opposite, although Marinette would never admit that to herself.  

 

“I said I’d come back next Monday, didn’t I?” Chat said, grinning. 

 

Marinette’s nose scrunched up in confusion, but when she realized what he was talking about, she gave him a fond eye roll.

 

“Oh, that,” Marinette said, snorting.  “So you mean to tell me that you decided to visit to me because of the caption of a horribly photoshopped parody of  _ The Bachelor  _ made by Alya starring us?”  

 

Chat Noir shrugged.  “A bit convoluted, but yeah, that’s the basic idea.  Anyways, I’d rather have that plan my appointments than a personal assistant tying me down at any given mew-ment.”  Chat quipped.  He said it lightly, so hopefully Marinette wouldn’t make the connection, but he honestly was sick of Nathalie, and by extension, his father, planning his every activity.  He couldn’t even finish a conversation with Marinette earlier that day because of plans for another shoot.  

 

Surprisingly, Marinette nodded thoughtfully.  “Yeah, I have a friend whose life is kinda like that.  I don’t think he’s allowed to ignore any call.  I wish he had some more freedom.”

 

Chat’s heart was warmed that Marinette considered Adrien to be her friend.  He didn’t think that many people noticed how restricted his life really was, but maybe he was a bit more transparent than he thought.  

 

Marinette was a bit confused by how Chat suddenly became silent and a bit somber, but then she wondered if Chat’s homelife was similar to Adrien’s.  Chat let tidbits of his homelife slip through during patrols, and although Marinette didn’t know the specifics, she knew that it wasn’t a warm place.  

 

The designer remembered something that Chat had been talking about, so she decided to change the subject.  To bring him back to reality, she put her hand on his shoulder.  

 

Chat Noir had asked for advice about a girl in his class, so Marinette wanted to follow up, despite the weird feelings she had about giving him the advice in the first place.  

 

_ Comment va cette fille?, How’s that girl doing?  _ Marinette planned on asking.  

 

Chat glanced at the hand on his shoulder, and then back at Marinette imploringly.  

 

_ Right,  _ Marinette thought,  _ better get on with it _ .  

 

Marinette took her hand off of his shoulder and let it rest by her side.  

 

“So Chat,  _ comment va cette fi--”  _ Before finishing the sentence, Marinette realized her error.  Chat had asked  _ Ladybug _ about the girl, not  _ Marinette _ .  If  _ Marinette  _ said anything about that girl,  _ Ladybug  _ would be in a shit load of trouble, and it would all come back to bite  _ Marinette,  _ so  _ Marinette  _ would keep her mouth shut.   “ _ gure?”.   _ Marinette finished lamely.  

 

It took both of them a second to realize what Marinette had just said.   _ Comment va cette figure?   _ She had asked him in all serious.   _ How’s that face doing?   _ She had asked Chat.  

 

Oh God.

 

Even though jumping out of the window seemed like a pretty good option to Marinette, she forced herself to stay “totally cool”.  She convinced herself that it was fine.   _ I shouldn’t act like I just said that to Adrien, c’mon now, it’s just Chat. _

 

“How’s that face doing?”  Chat replied slowly.  His ears twitched in confusion.  “Do you mean this face?” He asked, pointing to his own face.  A smirk was growing on his face.   

 

Marinette forced her face to stay neutral.   _ Totally cool.   _ “Well, yep.  I mean, you probably get punched in the face a lot by akumas or something, so, yep.  Is your face good?”  

 

It was almost like an out-of-body experience for Marinette.  She could see herself saying more and more awkward things, but she couldn’t stop.  She just kept on pushing through it all.  

 

Chat’s smirk grew concerningly large, and then he walked over to the Marinette’s mirror.  He winked at himself in the mirror and then steered himself back towards Marinette.

 

“Yeah, my face is pretty good,”  Chat admitted.  To his surprise, Marinette was blushing.  He was used to it as Adrien (for a reason that the incredibly dense boy had yet to discover), but it was an absolute shock to see  _ Chat  _ make Marinette blush.  The blush quickly dissipated, but he was anxious to see its return.  

 

“You know, your face is pretty good too,” Chat added, looking directly at Marinette.  The blush returned, brighter than before.  

 

Embarrassed, Marinette threw a pillow at Chat.  “Stop looking so pleased with yourself!”  

 

Grinning, Chat Noir caught the pillow.  “I think we should both be paw-leased with ourselves Marinette,”

 

Marinette grabbed another pillow to build her defense.  “And why’s that?”

 

“Because, you know, we both have pretty great faces,” Chat teased, referencing Marinette’s awkwardly phrased question.  

 

“Oh, you’re asking for it”  Marinette said, holding back her giggles and charging at Chat with her pillow.  

 

* * *

  
  


The next morning, Marinette was a bit late.  The pillow fight had lasted for quite some time, and it ended in a truce.  That truce was soon ended when Chat Noir made a horrible pun, because honestly, how could she not smack him with a pillow?  They had fought for about twenty minutes after that until Chat’s miraculous finally beeped.  

 

Marinette slept in a bit, but it wasn’t because Chat had kept her up.  Well, not intentionally.  He left around 11:30, so not super late, but thoughts of him and another blond plagued her thoughts during the night.  Marinette didn’t understand why so much was changing with both of them at the same exact time, and she didn’t really understand her own feelings on the matter either.   

 

Anyways, because of all of this, Marinette was a bit late.  She rushed into the school, but unfortunately, she ran straight into another student.  

 

Marinette was the only one whose things dropped to the floor, but she still apologized profusely while picking up her school supplies.  

 

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I really didn’t mean to, are you okay?” Marinette asked breathlessly, but her apologies stalled once she picked herself up from the ground and saw the blond who she had run into.  

  
“Surprise bitch,” Chloé’s nasally voice rang out.  “I bet you thought you’d seen the last of me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops


	6. Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette is already done with Chloé, Adrien is a cutie, and Chloé starts to plot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was originally part of a much longer chapter, but I decided to split it off so I could post a chapter sooner.

“Surprise bitch,” Chloé’s nasally voice rang out.  “I bet you thought you’d seen the last of me.”

 

Her voice actually was quite nasally; Marinette suspected that Chloé was still a little sick.  The designer sighed and rolled her eyes.  

 

“Actually, no, I didn’t think I’d seen the last of you.  You were only out for like, two days Chloé; I was expecting you to come back to class around this time,”  Marinette replied, putting her hands on her hips.  From Chloé’s snapchat story, Marinette knew that she had spent her weekend binging  _ American Horror Story _ , but she wasn’t going to give her the pleasure of an applicable reference.  

 

“God Marinette!  You take the fun out of everything.”  Chloé looked dramatically to the side, as if she had been personally wounded, and then sauntered off to class.  

 

The pigtailed girl braced herself for the rest of the school day with Chloé and followed the girl’s lead to their class.  

  
  


“Chloé!” Sabrina exclaimed happily as the blonde walked in.  Everyone else let out a barely contained groan at the class bully’s arrival.  

 

Chloé walked over to her desk and sat down with her friend, and then shot a wink at Adrien.  She had planned on giving him her customary greeting, but quickly decided against that because of her cold.  If Adrien got sick, it would be because of his loser friend Nino, not her.  

 

Sabrina babbled on about how horrid everything was without her, and explaining how she had done all of her friend’s makeup work, but Chloé’s attention was elsewhere.

 

When Marinette had barged in the classroom (she was running in order to not be late, even though she was right behind Chloé.  Marinette could literally turn any scenario into a scenario where she would be late for no good reason.), Nathanaël gave her his usual lovesick puppy look, which Marinette never seemed to notice, and Alya was waving to her happily, status quo as well, but  _ Adrien _ was staring at her too.

 

Why would he be doing that?!

 

Adrien absolutely lit up when he saw her, lifting out of his slouch and giving her a photoshoot worthy smile, and then Marinette smiled shyly and blushed, and Chloé realized with growing horror, that he blushed back.  

 

Chloé grimaced and shot Marinette a withering stare, but she was too busy gazing lovingly into Adrien’s eyes.  Ugh, Chloé only left for two days, and this was what she came home to?  

  
Ugh.  This would have to be taken care of, and Chloé knew that if she wanted something done, she would have to do it herself. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm doing camp nanowrimo right now, so that's why I haven't updated recently, but hey, I haven't forgotten this fic.
> 
> okay but I'm actually so excited about what I have planned for Chloé lolllllllll


	7. Accurate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette considers her situation, Alix ventures into the world of online dating, and Marinette attempts to be chill (spoiler: it doesn't work super well).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayyyy lmao guess who's back. I really don't know what the future of this fic will be, it's such a crack fic, idk guys, but we shall see. Is anyone still reading this? Why is anyone still reading this? Well, whoever you are, enjoy and thx for nice feedback

Marinette was having a pretty good day.  Sure, the teenage incarnate of evil was back at school, but she didn’t seem too riled up about anything this morning.  After bumping into her, Marinette had expected Chloé to claim that the designer had assaulted her, but that didn’t happen.

 

Maybe she was turning over a new leaf.  

 

But most of all, she felt elated because of the way Adrien had looked at her.  She was probably just imagining the blush, but that smile?  That enthusiasm?  That was completely genuine, and Marinette felt as if she was on cloud nine.  For some reason, after seeing Alya’s doodles of Ladybug and Chat Noir, she felt an ounce of guilt.  She forced Chat Noir out of her mind.  He was just a pal who just happened to flirt as if it was an Olympic sport.

 

Except he only flirted with her.

 

Anyway, Marinette was perfectly content to push that out of her mind at the moment and focus on how the boy of her dreams looked at her as if Marinette was the girl of his dreams.

 

Okay, that was an exaggeration, but Marinette had been waiting for any sign of reciprocated feelings for almost as long as she’d known him, so she had license to exaggerate a little bit.

* * *

  
  


During lunch, Alya and Marinette headed to the courtyard for lunch for a change.  Alix said that she needed their help, and other students followed, curious.  Alix rarely asked for help from anyone.  

 

Alix, Marinette, Alya, Juleka, Rose, Adrien, Nino, Kim, Chloé and Sabrina were all gathered there.

 

Alix basically ignored everyone except for Marinette and Alya (and Kim, except she was pretending to ignore him but not completely successful because of the occasional side eye).  

 

“Okay you guys,” Alix began.  “So, I have to go to a ton of boring events with my dad and brother, all of these gala type things.  I hate them, but there’s no way I can get out of them, so I’m trying to find a semi-permanent date so I’m not bored the whole time.  I’m usually allowed to bring a plus one, so yeah.  There’s this website called Student Connection, and it’s kinda like a dating website, but you can specify your preferences.  You need to have a valid Parisian student ID to make an account, so that gets rid of the creepiness factor.  Anyway, some guys have messaged me, so I wanted the two of you to help me out.  I chose you Alya, because you have a boyfriend and actually have your life together, and you Marinette, because literally everyone, including superheroes, gets a crush on you, so you should have some expertise.”  

 

Alya nodded sagely whereas Marinette stuttered and blushed and denied anyone ever crushing on her.  Kim was rolling his eyes, clearly irritated by something, and Chloé was confused.  She didn’t understand on what the whole “superhero crushing on Marinette” thing was, so she elbowed Sabrina to get the ginger to explain the situation.  When she explained it, instead of looking incredulous, Chloé seemed like she had a plan.  

 

The other students started talking amongst themselves, but they had an ear open in case anything interesting happened.

 

Alix showed Alya and Marinette the different guys who had messaged her, and they gave her advice.  One guy in particular popped up, and Marinette exclaimed, “Wow, he’s practically perfect!”  Alix and Alya agreed, and they decided that he would be the top choice.  

 

Kim randomly stormed off, and Alix just shrugged, but Marinette narrowed her eyes at the pink-haired girl.  She suspected that Alix had another plan, but she wouldn’t call her out on it.  

 

“Let’s make Marinette a profile,” Alix suggested, and Alya laughed and agreed.  

 

“Haha, let’s  _ not  _ do that,” Marinette countered.  “You know, when you think about it, there’s really absolutely no good reason to take this course of action.”

 

Alya leaned over and ruffled her best friend’s hair.  “C’mon Mari, we wouldn’t post it.  It’ll just be for fun!  And you owe me, because you are  _ clearly  _ keeping something from me, and I deserve to have a little fun.”

 

Marinette sighed.  “Okay, whatever, but this is so not going to be posted.”

 

Alya and Alix grinned and started making the profile on Alix’s phone, and Marinette busied herself drawing designs and eating her lunch.  After a few minutes, they showed Marinette how they had filled it out.  The website pretty much let the account owner choose how they would do it.  

  
  


**Looking for:**

| 

**Pros of Marinette**

| 

**Cons of Marinette**  
  
---|---|---  
  
Green eyes

| 

Adorable af, just an adorable presense

| 

Will definitely steal your phone (and the phone of all of your loved ones)  
  
Blonde hair

| 

Will not put up with anyone’s shit

| 

Surprisingly clumsy, falls over anything and everything  
  
Either superhero or supermodel good looks

| 

Literally just such a sweetie (so don’t you dare mess with my girl - Alya, best friend)

| 

Consistently flips out over things that usually aren’t a huge deal (NO CHILL)  
  
Sincerity (if not available, memes are a good substitute)

| 

Very good designer, will take over the world someday with her talent

| 

Gets jealous easily (0-100 real quick, it’s a problem)  
  
 

“Done!” Alya and Alix sang out.  

 

“I’m kinda scared to look,” Marinette admitted, shading in the skirt of a new design.  

 

“I mean, if you don’t want to look, I could just post it and let you see it later…” Alix said, her finger hovering dangerously over the submit button.  

 

“Can’t trust anyone these days,” Marinette muttered, snatching the phone from Alix.  As she read, the dark haired girl’s eyebrows steadily rose, and her face became increasingly red.  

 

To Alix’s and Alya’s surprise, she didn’t immediately flip out.  Instead, Marinette sat upwards and wrestled her naturally expressive face into neutral.  

 

“That’s a very good impression of a chill person Mari,” Alya commented, leaning back, amused.  Alya looked mildly amused most of the time.  

 

Marinette made a strange snorting noise.  “As a matter of fact, I have  _ lots  _ of chill.  An astounding amount, actually, contrary to what your little ‘profile’ says,”

 

Alya and Alix tilted their heads doubtfully.  

 

“Mari, as your best friend, I filled out that profile 100% accurately,” Alya said.  “Journalists don’t lie.”

 

“I’m gonna stop you right there,” Marinette said.  “First off, I don’t borrow phones that often.  It only happened three times,”

 

“You’ve stolen three phones!” Alix exclaimed, an air of disbelief in her voice.  “I thought Alya was just making stuff up.”

 

“And I am not looking for any type of superhero!”  Marinette continued, ignoring Alix's interruption.  She hadn't meant to make others aware of her phone-stealing past.   

 

“Okay, okay,” Alya agreed, putting her hands up in mock surrender.  She could argue that particular point for a while, but she knew when to tease her best friend and when to back off.  

 

“Whatever you say Mari,” Alix sighed.  She had hoped for more Marinette dramatics.  

 

“I’m glad that all sorted out,” Marinette said, deleting the profile.  “All gone!”

 

“Except for the fact that I screenshotted it and sent it to my phone,” Alya said casually, that Alya-is-always-at-least-two-steps-ahead-of-you smirk on her face.  

 

“Ughhhhhh,” Alya’s best friend grimaced, the expressive Marinette making her return, with her mouth twisted in a strange frown.  “Alyaaaaaaa, you’re the worst.”

 

Alya simply laughed and tugged on one of Marinette’s pigtails.  “I’m the best and you love me,”

 

“Yeah, okay,” Marinette muttered resignedly, making herself comfortable with her head on Alya’s lap.  

  
After all, Marinette was never good at lying.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @rio make flirting an Olympic sport asap
> 
> Alya and Marinette are soulmates, 100%, platonically or otherwise


	8. Nickname

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mari has self doubts, Alya is Simply the Best™ and Adrien spends his free time with lockers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> s/o to me for getting this chapter done before school starts even tho I have cramps right now lmao
> 
> but really, s/o to all of you readers. You're the reason why I write this odd, crack-ish fic, and your comments make my day. This is for you.

Throughout class, Marinette wondered about the cons that Alya wrote.  Despite her protests, Marinette knew that they were true.  She was prone to clumsiness, jealously, freak outs, and the occasional phone theft.  

 

She also knew that the pros were true.  

 

Overall, Marinette considered herself a mixed bag, which made her worry a little bit.  If she ever did get to date Adrien, would he be turned off by her more negative qualities?  He probably already thought that she was a bit weird because of how she acted around him, but if Adrien got to know her better, would he really like her, warts and all?  

 

However, Marinette reminded herself,  _ this week he has given me a bunch of attention.  And even if he didn’t like me that way, he would reject me in a very polite manner, _ Marinette thought ruefully.  

 

Marinette let out a sigh.  Luckily, it wasn’t too noticeable that Madame Bustier would pause her lecture, but it didn’t go completely unnoticed.  

 

Adrien turned his head and tilted it towards her quizzically in concern, wordlessly asking  _ Are you okay?  _

 

Marinette smiled shyly and nodded, letting him know that everything was fine.  In that moment, she didn’t question how they were able to communicate so well without uttering a word.  It seemed so natural.  

 

Alya wrote a note to Marinette.

 

_ A - You okay girl? _

 

Marinette took the paper and wrote her own response.

 

_ M - I’m fine _

 

Alya frowned.

 

_ A - Something was clearly bugging you _

 

Alya looked at Marinette with one eyebrow raised slightly, so Marinette took the paper again.

 

_ M - Do you think I’m good enough for Adrien?  I just don’t know if he--- _

 

Marinette was in the process of writing her note, but Alya had already read the beginning and interrupted her note.

 

_ A - Of course you are babe!!! You’re amazing, and if he doesn’t see that, then he’s an idiot.   _

 

Marinette snorted slightly at Alya’s both enthusiastic and incredulous response, but Alya was done writing.  

 

_ A - and I’ll kick the ass of anyone who says something to the contrary _

 

This time Marinette fully snorted, drawing a semi-stern look from Madame Bustier and amusement and confusion from her classmates.  Adrien quickly turned and grinned up at her.  

 

_ M - Thx Al <3 _

 

* * *

  
  


After class, Marinette and Alya went to their lockers.  Marinette was recounting a story of how she almost fell down the stairs that day when Alya coughed, giving her a meaningful look.

 

“What is it?” Marinette loud-whispered to her best friend, her eyes searching Alya for an indication.

 

“Adrien is approaching.  Stay chill.  You got this.”  Alya whispered back firmly.  She then casually strode away across the hall, pretending to be occupied with her phone, but Marinette was certain she was still in hearing distance and typing gibberish into her phone instead of a “post for the Ladyblog”, as she would claim if anyone else asked her.  

 

Marinette took a deep breath and closed her locker, careful not to slam it.  As Alya had warned her, Adrien was standing right there in front of her.  The last time Adrien did that hey-I’ll-just-hide-behind-your-locker-for-an-indefinite-amount-of-time-thing was when he wanted to ask her about her thoughts on Chat Noir.  It seemed like everything came back to him, but Marinette chastised herself for thinking about him when Adrien was literally standing right in front of her.  

 

She had been staring for longer than was normal, so the pigtailed girl uttered a response.     
  


“Hey!  What’s up…” Marinette said awkwardly.  She thought she came on too enthusiastically, so she sort of lost steam.  Luckily, Adrien was not deterred.

 

“Hey Marinette, can I ask you something?”  Adrien then scratched his head, as Adrien Agreste often does.  

 

Sensing his slight awkwardness, which Marinette only recently had learned about, she calmed herself down a bit.  “Of course,” was her smooth response.  

 

“Can I call you Mari?” He asked, earnestly.  

 

The way he was so polite and considerate about everything had always endeared him to Marinette, so she couldn’t help it that her first thought was  _ You can call me anything that you want.  _

 

The only problem was that judging by the look on Adrien’s now pink face, it was not just a thought.  Marinette had said it out loud.  

 

Even redder than Adrien, Marinette realized that her statement sounded very suggestive.  Way too suggestive a response for a completely adorable, innocent question.  Oh God.  Her ray of sunshine did not deserve to hear such responses.

 

Marinette considered the possibility of crawling into her locker, but before she could plan out the logistics of such an idea, Adrien cleared his throat, catching Marinette’s attention again.

 

“So…” he began, regaining eye contact.  “Is Mari good?”

 

Marinette smiled instantly at her nickname, the tension eased.  “Mari’s great.”

 

He grinned back again.  “Well then, à bientôt Mari.”

 

As Adrien walked away, Marinette wondered why he said that he would see her soon.  It was after school now; she doubted she would bump into him again that day.  

__

* * *

 

 

After Adrien was out of sight, Alya slid right back to Marinette’s right.  “Damn, Mari  _ is  _ great.  You were pretty smooth.  And the whole ‘You can call me anything that you want?’.  I honestly did not think you had that in you.”

 

“Me neither,” Marinette said, slightly cringing at that remark.  “But hey, that was a mostly successful interaction!” Marinette announced triumphantly, thinking at the same time,  _ my standards for celebration aren’t very high _ .

 

Even if Alya had similar thoughts, she gladly high-fived Marinette.  After all, she was almost as involved in the Adrienette saga as Marinette herself was.  

 

“Hey, do you want to come over?” Marinette asked.  She had some free time before patrol, and not too much homework.  

 

“Will there be delicious food available for me?” Alya retorted playfully.  

 

Marinette scrunched up her nose.  “Why do you ask questions that you already know the answer to?”

 

“Because that answer makes me extremely happy.” Alya told Marinette, to which the baker’s daughter let out a bark of laughter.  

  
“Then yes,” Marinette replied, rolling her eyes affectionately.  “There will be snacks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My French teacher said that people don't really say "à bientôt" unless they will see that person later in the day, so you all can take a gander as to why Adrien said that to Mari. 
> 
> As always, I don't know when the next chapter will be. School is starting soon, along with many other activities, so that is a bit of a time strain, however, I do have further plans for this fic, so it will not be abandoned. Keep in mind that I only write this when I get a bit inspired, especially since this is just for fun.
> 
> Finally, Mari's last line is inspired by this Andrew Bird song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjKpHnF_sRg

**Author's Note:**

> The ending sounds kinda open-ended so maybe I'll continue it? It might be kinda fun to mess around with this idea, but I really don't have any plans.


End file.
